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The Chris Farley Show

post #1 of 80
5/12/08 at 10:25am
Thread Starter 
Equal parts good and sad account of his life and death. I was a little worried that his oldest brother being a co-author might result in some sugarcoating. Not the case at all. It’s written in the same oral-history style as “Live From New York.” Recommended to fans of Farley, “SNL,” or to those who just like reading about people who constantly fuck up.

Oh, and if you’re wondering whether Bokeem Woodbine shares his experiences of working with Farley on ALMOST HEROES. Yes. He. Does.
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post #2 of 80
5/12/08 at 10:38am
Any Gary Busey Black Sheep moments?
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post #3 of 80
5/12/08 at 10:49am
BUSE has probably used his indian spirit powers to communicate with him from beyond the grave!
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post #4 of 80
5/12/08 at 10:55am
Busey got those powers when he hit the pavement doing 80 knots on his motorcycle. He went to the other side.
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post #5 of 80
5/12/08 at 10:56am
I didn't know motorcycles had a knots speedometer.
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post #6 of 80
5/12/08 at 10:58am
A knotsometer was the last thing busey saw before he hit the pavement, and I believe him.
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post #7 of 80
5/12/08 at 11:05am
Based on the title, I was hoping NBC decided enough time had passed since his death that it was fair game to do something akin to SEINFELDVISION.
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post #8 of 80
5/12/08 at 11:05am
I'm semi-interested in reading this. I love Farley, but I'm not sure I want to read a really dark portrait of the man - which I some of the reviews have made it out to be. Is that the case, Molt?
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post #9 of 80
5/12/08 at 11:21am
I'm interested now, especially the oral history angle, which worked really well for "Live from New York" and the very good but at times uneven Zevon biography that just came out in paperback. I always thought the stuff from "Live" about Farley was particularly touching, especially Chris Rock's bit about "Two guys sharing an office, one from the Midwest, one from Bed-Stuy. Which one is more likely to OD?" and "Damn, Chris. Lost your boy."
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post #10 of 80
5/12/08 at 11:36am
Thread Starter 
No Busey recollections. I was bummed too. But they do explain a lot as to why BLACK SHEEP turned out so awful.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kevin Matchstick View Post
I'm semi-interested in reading this. I love Farley, but I'm not sure I want to read a really dark portrait of the man - which I some of the reviews have made it out to be. Is that the case, Molt?
It's dark in that it shows that no matter what type of rehab or programs he entered into, nothing could help him. The book portrays him as a really sweet (and surprisingly religious) guy who just couldn't get a grip on his addictions.

But it also has its fun side. All the stuff about him getting into Second City in Chicago and then finally to "SNL" is a lot of fun to read. There are tons of great and funny stories like when the Super Fans sketch got hot and him, Robert Smigel, and George Wendt were asked to perform at Soldier Field during a Bears game.

The book also makes a fair point about the "Chippendales" sketch. That's what put his face on the map but it also set the stage for the type of sketches he'd end up doing on the show forever. Chris Rock hated that sketch.
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post #11 of 80
5/12/08 at 11:41am
Related to this: It's been over ten years. Is it now safe to call Tommy Boy a classic?
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post #12 of 80
5/12/08 at 11:44am
Thread Starter 
They actually refer to it as a "minor-classic" in the book. It's certainly way better than his other leading roles and as a comedic-lead debut it's an enjoyable movie but that's about it.

I had no idea that Farley and Spade got into a rather bitter love-triangle with the hottie who skinny-dips in the pool in TOMMY BOY.
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post #13 of 80
5/12/08 at 11:44am
Tom Farley was on the Playboy morning show last week...I only got to hear a little bit of it. He said that the opening of Tommy Boy was pretty much how Chris was in school.
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post #14 of 80
5/12/08 at 11:54am
I don't remember if it was Black Sheep or Tommy Boy, but my favorite of the two has Farley drinking with some kids and singing "Smokin', shootin' snortin', suckin', poppin', droppin'!" and then later "A party with you!"
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post #15 of 80
5/12/08 at 12:02pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Moltisanti View Post
I had no idea that Farley and Spade got into a rather bitter love-triangle with the hottie who skinny-dips in the pool in TOMMY BOY.
Holy shit . . . That "weight room" line worked?
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post #16 of 80
5/12/08 at 12:41pm
Thread Starter 
Guess so. That lady really created a riff between those two.

I'd always heard that Farley was the original choice to voice Shrek, but I didn't know he had done as much work on the film as he did.
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post #17 of 80
5/12/08 at 12:51pm
Well, I'm definitely buying the book now -- I've always wanted to hear about his work on Shrek.

Molti, do they discuss the Fatty Arbuckle project with Mamet (I think) Farley was supposed to do?
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post #18 of 80
5/12/08 at 1:05pm
Thread Starter 
Yeah, they talk about that and how he had hoped that it would be the film to really break him out of the "fatty falls down" formula that he had trapped himself in. He even met with Mamet and they supposedly got along well.

The problem was by that time he was so on-and-off the wagon that no insurance company would cover him for that film.
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post #19 of 80
5/12/08 at 1:21pm
Yeah, in reading about Arbuckle's life, you can see why it appealed to Farley and I really think he would have been potentially awesome in the role. It's one of those "oh, what could have beens." And the Mamet combination made that project all the more intriguing.
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post #20 of 80
5/12/08 at 1:33pm
The fact Farley didn't live to play Shrek (and have superstar success), is reason #1009 that I can't appreciate the Myers version. Instead of a lovable oaf we get the "If it's not Scottish it's crap" guy. Sad.
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post #21 of 80
5/12/08 at 2:50pm
God only knows how things would have turned out had Farley been able to conquer his demons...
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post #22 of 80
5/12/08 at 2:53pm
Thread Starter 
A couple years ago they gave him a star on the Walk of Fame. A bunch of "SNL" guys showed up and Spade joked if he had lived he'd be working for Sandler just like the rest of them.
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post #23 of 80
5/12/08 at 2:56pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by FilmNerdJamie View Post
God only knows how things would have turned out had Farley been able to conquer his demons...
Ghostbusters 3 would've been made and he probably would've taken some of Jack Black's roles.
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post #24 of 80
5/12/08 at 2:56pm
I could see a Fatty Arbuckle film opening alot of doors for him. But he'd concurrently do comedies (i.e. albeit less "fatty make a funny" type stuff and yes cameoing in Sandler films and what not) in an alternate reality.

Quote:
Originally Posted by EdHocken View Post
Ghostbusters 3 would've been made and he probably would've taken some of Jack Black's roles.
King Kong comes to mind...
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post #25 of 80
5/12/08 at 2:58pm
Or Black's role in Tropic Thunder at the moment.
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post #26 of 80
5/12/08 at 3:04pm
Maybe he'd have been the Belushi substitute in BLUES BROTHERS 2000?
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post #27 of 80
5/12/08 at 3:10pm
Thread Starter 
There were a couple roles he was close to playing but he couldn't get out of a contract with Paramount which essentially forced him to make BLACK SHEEP. One was the Randy Quaid part in KINGPIN and the other was Carrey's role in THE CABLE GUY. But the version of THE CABLE GUY with Farley was a much more conventional comedy and wasn't nearly as dark as what Carrey and Stiller ended up making.
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post #28 of 80
5/12/08 at 3:15pm
Interesting. I can't picture either movies with him in them though!
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post #29 of 80
5/12/08 at 3:21pm
Thread Starter 
I could see him in KINGPIN. He'd have been able to do both the innocence Ishmael showed at the start of the film, all the way to when he's dancing on tables toward the end. But Quaid was great though.
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post #30 of 80
5/12/08 at 3:22pm
I'm sure some people would've vomited at the site of Farley taking a crap at a urinal.
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post #31 of 80
5/12/08 at 4:20pm
Woe to we that will never receive the Dirty Work spinoff that I dream of to this day.
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post #32 of 80
5/12/08 at 4:26pm
Thread Starter 
They could still do one about Chevy Chase's Dr. Farthing. No wait, the bookies beat him to death anyway. So he's dead. That's it. Bye!
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post #33 of 80
5/12/08 at 7:12pm
Does the book mention his possible involvement with Ghostbusters III?
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post #34 of 80
5/12/08 at 7:20pm
Thread Starter 
No. I have never heard that rumor before and it isn't mentioned in the book. Not sure how far that got beyond just being a rumor.
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post #35 of 80
5/12/08 at 7:36pm
Dan Aykroyd was basically the only guy to bring it up. According to him (Yes I realize he could be full of shit and/or delusional), they had chosen Farley, Chris Rock and Ben Stiller to play the "next generation" to be featured along side the returning 4 original Ghostbusters.
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post #36 of 80
5/12/08 at 7:40pm
Thread Starter 
Oh okay, seems like I've been hearing Aykroyd say various things about a third GHOSTBUSTERS for years. I've sort of tuned out on any particulars. But no, it's not brought up in the book. Neither is the rumor of a "Gilligan's Island" movie with him and Sandler that I remember hearing about in the mid-90's when every old TV show was being turned into a bad movie.
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post #37 of 80
5/12/08 at 7:52pm
That one's news to me...thank God that was just a rumor. Ugh.

Of course, there'll probably still make one with Jonah Hill as the Skipper and McLovin as Gilligan.
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post #38 of 80
5/12/08 at 8:01pm
Thread Starter 
Oh no, Michael Cera should be Gilligan. With Leslie Mann as Lovey. Money in the bank.
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post #39 of 80
5/12/08 at 8:02pm
You're right. Don't know who the others would be...

Paul Rudd as the Professor perhaps?
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post #40 of 80
5/12/08 at 8:07pm
Elizabeth Banks/Katherine Heigl as Ginger, that 70s show chick as Mary Ann. Paul Rudd or John C. Reilly as the Professor. And in a casting coup only Apatow can pull off (or not, because they love money) Steve Martin & Diane Keaton as the millionare and his wife.
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post #41 of 80
5/12/08 at 8:09pm
Or Goldie Hawn in case Keaton fell through...Ditto with Jason Bateman if Rudd doesn't work out...
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post #42 of 80
5/12/08 at 8:11pm
Thread Starter 
I was thinking David Koechner for Thurston Howell III.
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post #43 of 80
5/13/08 at 2:27pm
Just wanted to add, saw today Kevin Nealon has a autobiography coming out! (America's been clamoring) Will it be as juicy as the Farley book? Who knows. Hope for some dish on Lovitz!
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post #44 of 80
5/13/08 at 2:41pm
Thread Starter 
As the board's resident Nealon apologist I would read an autobiography from him, but it sounds like his book deals mostly with being a father at a late age. Nuts to that. I already read plenty on that subject years ago in Tony Randall's autobiography.

I do want to track down Jay Mohr's book "Gasping for Airtime" which is supposedly a good account of his rough 2 years on the show.
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post #45 of 80
5/13/08 at 2:43pm
Yeah, I skimmed thru that one. Seemed like burning bridges.
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post #46 of 80
5/13/08 at 2:48pm
I read it, and it didn't burn many bridges iirc. It's a good quick read, highlighting pretty well how a person with a pretty extreme anxiety disorder gets through something like SNL.
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post #47 of 80
5/13/08 at 2:51pm
Didn't Sarah Silverman say she had a horrible experience on SNL too?
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post #48 of 80
5/13/08 at 2:52pm
Yeah, kinda amazing. Suprised how few freak-outs theres been, live tv and all.
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post #49 of 80
5/13/08 at 2:55pm
Thread Starter 
I don't think Silverman had such an awful experience. She wasn't on long and I'm sure she felt like a lot of women do (especially in the early 90's) in that it's tough to get stuff on the air.

The one who always gripes and moans whenever she gets the chance is Garofalo. She hated her brief stint and almost everyone involved with the show at that time.
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post #50 of 80
5/13/08 at 2:59pm
The funny thing about 94-95, as bad as it was, there were some real highlights. The Clooney & Travolta episodes stand out as being funny. Even though she was miserable, I thought Garofalo was good on it. And, oh, to waste Chris Elliott! Shame on Michaels!
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